The New Jersey-based Spectrum Gaming Group is conducting the $388,845 study, the rest of which is due Oct. 1. It is not making recommendations, only objectively laying out gaming’s economic effects and social costs.

Most pari-mutuel betting operations lose money and rely on their cardrooms and other casino-style games to “subsidize those losses,” the study found.

In the last two decades, there’s also been a steady decline in interest in the pari-mutuels, most prominently with greyhound racing, the 320-page study said.

The New Jersey-based Spectrum Gaming Group is conducting the $388,845 study, the rest of which is due Oct. 1. It is not making recommendations, only objectively laying out gaming’s economic effects and social costs.

Most pari-mutuel betting operations lose money and rely on their cardrooms and other casino-style games to “subsidize those losses,” the study found.

In the last two decades, there’s also been a steady decline in interest in the pari-mutuels, most prominently with greyhound racing, the 320-page study said.

“Greyhound racing, which is Florida’s most widespread form of pari-mutuel racing, is clearly in serious decline,” the study said.

The total amount wagered for Florida’s 13 greyhound facilities was $933.8 million in fiscal year 1989-90, dropping to $265.4 million in fiscal year 2011-12, according to the study. That was a 67 percent decrease.

But the total number of greyhound race performances has practically remained constant, only decreasing from 3,853 to 3,636, about 6 percent. (A performance includes at least eight races.)

Races have declined little because state law requires greyhound tracks with cardrooms to run at least 90 percent of the “live performances” that were run the year before they opened the cardrooms.

Hard attendance numbers aren’t available either because most tracks no longer charge admission, the study said, noting, however, that attendance has “declined precipitously since 1990.”

The nearby Ebro Greyhound Park still charges $2 admission for four days out of the six that it holds greyhound races.

It’s much the same for jai alai, played primarily in South Florida, where paid attendance plummeted 99.7 percent between fiscal year 1989-90 and fiscal year 2011-12. The jai alai sector suffered a $14 million operating loss in fiscal year 2011-12, but eked out a $1 million profit because of its cardrooms.

Big question

The Legislature must answer a big question: Are current laws that prop up the waning pari-mutuels worth keeping?

Some say the pari-mutuels are part of Florida’s unique identity and should be saved; others want them cut adrift, arguing that animal racing is cruel and inhumane.

State Sen. Bill Montford acknowledged both sides, but wasn’t ready to join either one.

“We had the study done to find out exactly where we are so we can make some good, sound, rational decisions. Quite frankly, right now, I don’t have an opinion,” he said.

The Tallahassee Democrat said he wants to review the study and hear from the public before making any decisions.

Montford sits on the Senate Gaming Committee, which will likely use the study as an underpinning for comprehensive gambling legislation, likely to come in 2014.

“The goal is for us to make the recommendations for a long-range comprehensive approach to gaming in Florida. Clearly it is,” Montford said.

Ultimately, the study will decide if Florida, and mainly South Florida, will be home to destination casinos.

“We’re talking about whether or not Florida should be a world center for gaming. That’s one of the most serious issues we’ll face this session,” Montford said, adding he has no leanings either way.

State lottery

The Florida Lottery is doing a bang-up job, according the study. It set a record in fiscal year 2011-12 with sales of $4.45 billion, up 11 percent from the previous year. That puts Florida third nationally in total sales revenue, following New York and Massachusetts.

Florida also hit another state record that same year as per-capita lottery sales reached $233, according to the study.

Meanwhile, state Senate President Don Gaetz said the study would be evaluated over the next few months. He also said plans are continuing to be made for public hearings and meetings on gaming.

“Speaker (Will) Weatherford and I believe the broadest possible discussion should be conducted to provide legislators the opportunity to listen to law enforcement, the religious community, local officials, Native American tribes, concerned citizens and a wide variety of other interested parties,” Gaetz, R-Niceville, said in a statement.